Police suspect arson in hearth at Wyoming abortion clinic website

Police believe an in a single day hearth in Wyoming that damaged a building being renovated to house a brand new abortion clinic was deliberately set

By

MEAD GRUVER Associated Press

Might 25, 2022, 3:57 PM ET

• 2 min learn

CASPER, Wyo. -- An abortion clinic set to open next month in conservative Wyoming was broken in a hearth early Wednesday that police believe was deliberately set — probably by someone seen operating away from the building carrying what appeared to be a gasoline can and a bag.

The blaze damaged the within of the constructing beneath renovation to accommodate the clinic in Casper, the second-biggest city in a state where opposition to abortion is widespread.

The clinic, which also planned to supply different well being care services for girls, had been set to open in June as solely the second place in the state to offer abortions. Wyoming’s current lone location for girls to get abortions is at a hospital in Jackson, 281 miles (452 kilometers) away.

A person who called authorities earlier than daybreak saw someone operating from the building with what appeared to be a fuel can and a black bag, police stated in a Facebook submit. Investigators have been reviewing video footage from the world in hopes of identifying the suspect or generating a suspect description, police mentioned. No injuries were reported.

Julie Burkhart, the clinic’s director, mentioned clinic organizers had been receiving harassing emails and telephone messages. The constructing had video cameras that have been functioning, and police were given entry to them, she stated.

“Whether or not you’re in opposition to abortion or support abortion rights, you’re not going to make abortion go away,” stated Burkhart, a former associate of Dr. George Tiller, an abortion supplier who was shot and killed in a Wichita, Kansas, church in 2009.

Protests have been held this spring by abortion opponents at the future clinic website, and indicators opposing abortion were seen Wednesday in a window of an house next door to the constructing.

Wyoming is one of 13 U.S. states with a so-called trigger law that may immediately outlaw abortion if the Roe v. Wade determination that legalized it nationwide is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court docket. A leaked draft of a ruling suggests that will happen quickly.

Police quickly closed off the street where the small building is situated as officers investigated. A number of of the building's windows have been damaged, and smoke harm was visible around one shattered window.